by Gian Bordin
She watched Syd Twan enter, curious of his reaction. He surveyed the lobby, going past her, and then suddenly came back to her, his eyes opening wide for a second, before they broke into a pleased smile. She again sensed his raised emotion and wondered about its meaning. As he approached, she was struck by how handsome he was.
"How beautiful you are, Yuen-mong. Your mother would be pleased seeing you in this dress that she wore at her wedding, as I am pleased to have the privilege of introducing you to your family, wearing it."
She smiled and said: "Good evening, Dr. Twan. I’m ready to visit the lion’s den."
"Lion’s den? Maybe, but I think that he has mellowed. Yuen-mong, I would be honored if you called me Syd."
"With pleasure, Syd. Formalities are still something that I find strange and a bit forbidding."
He ushered her out to a vehicle that she recognized as one of the rare combustion engine cars only Foundation members were permitted to own.
"Whom will I meet today?" she asked, as he merged into the light traffic.
"You will be met by Ko Young, the second oldest brother of your mother, his children, a son, Pat Young and his wife, Susan, and Ko Young’s two daughters, Mai and Bee. He will then introduce you to your grandfather, Chen Young."
"Is there not another brother?"
"Yes, Kwong Fook, the oldest. He won’t be there. He has been living in complete seclusion for over twenty years now. It is said to find his peace of mind. Apparently, he only receives your grandfather. I have heard through the grapevine that nobody else knows where he is."
Twenty years? Did this mean something or was it a mere coincidence? She put him high on her list of potential candidates.
"Grapevine, what is that?"
"Sorry, Yuen-mong, you make me forget that you too lived in isolation and may not be used to words like these. Grapevine in this context means hearing about things through informal channels, word of mouth and gossip."
"I see… Will you be with me all the time while I’m there?"
"I would love that, but this is strictly a family affair. No, I will leave you after the introductions."
He then explained the process of access to the Sanctum, that she would have to present her right hand to a reader, which would at the same time also take an eye scan, both to be stored for future recognition. She caught herself listening more to his melodious voice than to what he said.
Once inside, she noticed that he had chosen the street that led past her mother’s house. He slowed down at the gate and said: "This is your mother’s villa. It has an exceptional location and is a rare architectural gem."
"I know. I had a look at it the other day," she replied casually.
He frowned and then smiled: "You mean you saw a video about it?" The car had come to rest.
"No, I saw it from that viewpoint up there and then looked at it through this gate."
"But that’s impossible. How could you even get in? There is strictly enforced security for access to the Sanctum, which you only have obtained right now."
She responded with a smile. "Apparently, the security is not that strict. Atun and I entered without the slightest difficulties."
"But how? It’s impossible without presenting an admissible finger print or eye scan … and you were not arrested?"
"You would have been the first to hear about that, Syd; but you don’t expect me to reveal my secret, do you?" A twinkle of amusement played around her eyes.
He burst out laughing. "I see. I have to revise my opinion of you. You are not quite the innocent stone-age survivor that you portrayed yourself two days ago."
"Did I … or was that the image you wished to see?"
He laughed again. "You are a delight. I hope Chen Young will appreciate you as much as I do." He drove on. "To come back to the villa, tomorrow it will be yours. I guess that you also know already that your cousin, Pat Young, lives in there now."
She nodded and said: "Yes, I heard him abuse and hit a young domestic who, by the way, is now in my employment."
"You move fast. This will cause resentment. Is that wise?"
"Do you imply that I should let him coerce the girl to submit to sex?"
Syd frowned again. "He has a reputation of being stern with his domestics, and you will learn that many of them need it, but he would hardly ask her for that. The girl must be lying."
"I heard it with my own ears, and Atun can confirm it, if you need confirmation." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
He only raised his eyebrows and remained quiet for a while. "Still, it won’t make it easier to come to an accommodation about the house with him."
"How much notice do I have to give him?"
This time he glanced at her alarmed. "You intend to force him out? … This will cause serious trouble. It would be much wiser to sell it to him."
"This was my mother’s house. It’s mine now, and I intend to live there."
"Yuen-mong, I hope you forgive me if I take the liberty to caution you. It is unwise to upset the powerful Young dynasty. Any one of them may petition the Foundation to strike you from the register, and such a request coming from them is likely to be acted upon. If this happens you won’t be able to live in the Sanctum unless you marry somebody from inside."
"We will see. I will take one step at a time. The next one is to meet my grandfather."
Again that quick glance of surprise. A short time later he came to a halt in front of a double iron gate and activated the security video intercom.
"Dr. Twan," he said, as the small screen showed the face of an attendant.
"Dr. Twan, the gates will open. Please drive up."
Both sides opened slowly and as soon as the gap became wide enough, Syd drove up a road cut into the side of the hill. It turned on itself to go through a high portal into a sizable courtyard, enclosed on three sides by an imposing mansion. A liveried attendant opened Syd’s door.
"Good evening, sir. Mr. Young is awaiting you."
"Please, attend to the lady," Syd said in a reproachful tone, but it was too late. Yuen-mong was already climbing out of the car, while the mortified attendant apologized, bowing several times.
"It’s all right. I’m a big girl," she said, smiling to him. He blushed.
She joined Syd on the other side of the car. The attendant rushed ahead, and by the time they reached the entrance, both sides of the engraved panel doors were thrown open. A tall impeccably dressed man in his early fifties with strong Chinese features came slowly forward, smiling benignly. If he was surprised to see her in the Chinese dress, he did not show it. Three young women, all dressed in expensive-looking, modern clothing, and a young man in his late twenties remained behind in the shade of the dome-covered entrance hall. Although their faces showed disinterested politeness, Yuen-mong sensed the intense curiosity of the three women and also recognized the bored disdain of the young man as the male who had abused Anouk. She was again surprised by the excessive make-up of all four of them. It almost hid their own natural facial features — such a stark contrast to her own modest use of rouge on her lips.
When they stood in front of each other, the man she guessed to be Ko Young, shook hands with Syd Twan, murmuring "Thank you, Syd" and then turned to her. "Welcome to the Young family, my daughter."
She bowed and replied: "Thank you, uncle, for your kindness of receiving me."
"It is our pleasure and our duty to my sister. Come, I will introduce you to your cousins."
The four came a few steps closer.
"This is Yuen-mong, the daughter of my sister, Zoshan," he addressed them, and the three women bowed to her, while the young man gave a bored nod. Ko Young extended his arm toward him. "My son, Pat Young, and his wife, Susan."
Yuen-mong knew that her cousin expected a bow from her. She met his insolent gaze firmly and only nodded, saying "Cousin," sensing his immediate hostility. She shook Susan’s limp hand, answering her barely audible "Welcome" with a smile, saying: "Glad to meet you, Susan."
Next
, she moved to the other two young women.
"This is my oldest daughter, Bee. Unfortunately, her husband could not join us today."
"Yuen-mong, welcome to Androma," Bee said firmly, extending her hand.
"Thank you, Bee," she replied while shaking her hand.
"And this is my youngest daughter, Mai. She is the same age as you."
Mai responded to Yuen-mong’s smile and said: "I’m so excited to meet you. I had no idea I had a cousin before yesterday. Welcome."
"Thank you, Mai. I’m also looking forward to get to know you." She liked her solid handshake.
She could feel Ko Young’s focus on her and turned to him again.
"Yuen-mong, your resemblance to my dear sister is extraordinary and seeing you I have not the slightest doubt that you are her daughter. We are naturally all sad to hear that both your mother and father are dead and we will have a suitable ceremony in their honor in the near future. I will try my best to be your guardian and give you guidance in what must be a completely foreign world to you."
"Thank you, uncle, for your concern. I will be glad to receive your advice." She discerned the slight perturbation of his mind and added: "Syd has already been of great help."
"And now I will introduce you to your grandfather. Please, come with me." He led her to the wide staircase that wound up in a three-quarter circle to the next floor. The four young people followed. She noticed that Syd remained behind and turned to him: "Syd, thank you."
As she climbed the stairs, she reached out to find the mind of an old man, but could sense nothing except the people around her who gave her mixed messages, ranging from curiosity to resentment. At the top of the stairs, an attendant opened both panels of a door leading into a large hall. A rich patterned carpet stretched all the way to the alcove at the other end of the hall where a white-haired man sat in a throne-like chair, holding a real book in his hand. He placed it on the table behind him when they entered.
Ko Young put his hand on her back and led her along. She kept her head bent, eyes cast down, trying without success to penetrate the old man’s mind. When she was about ten feet from the chair, she knelt gracefully, keeping her head bowed and waited. She sensed the surprise of the people behind her who had come to a halt too. Nobody spoke. The seconds slowly ticked away.
"Please leave us alone," a deep, rich voice ordered. Again she sensed confusion and irritation. After a moment of hesitation, she heard steps retreat and the door close.
"So you are Yuen-mong — complete the dream, my daughter’s dream."
Yuen-mong raised her head and embraced him with one of her smiles she knew could melt the coldest heart. "Yes, grandfather. It was my mother’s dream that one day she would be able to honor you with her child — even if only a girl child." A slight twinkle in her eyes betrayed her humor.
Smiling, he said: "It has completed my dream, granddaughter. Rise and come to me."
He stretched out his hands, and she approached, placing both of hers into his.
"I have lost a beloved daughter but have gained a granddaughter in her image. Let me feast my eyes on you … Were it not for your blue eyes, I would have believed that you were my daughter when I first saw you. And when you knelt in front of me, like she always did when she came to see me after a long absence, my heart was both bleeding for her and rejoicing in you."
"Thank you, grandfather. I hope that I will honor my mother in your eyes. I know she loved you very much. She often told me about you."
"She was my favorite child and I grieved long for her. Did she suffer when she died?"
"Yes, grandfather, she suffered saving me from being raped by the savages on Aros."
"Yes, she would willingly die to save her child… Please, sit with me a while before we join the others for a meal." He pointed to the bench along the window.
He wanted to know how her parents had died, about her education and offered to arrange for private tutoring to get her ready for university.
"I have instructed my son, Ko, to be your guardian. Your mother and your father were both wealthy, and he will look after your interests. I would like that you live in my house. It is big, and the apartment your mother had before she got married is yours. It can be made ready by tomorrow."
"Thank you, grandfather. I hope you will not think that I am ungrateful or disrespectful for what I’m going to say now. I have had to look after myself alone for the last eight years in a world full of dangers, where even the slightest mistake or inattention could have meant death. I’m used to make my own decisions and I intend to continue this even in my new life." She met his gaze firmly. For the first time she sensed a strong response in him, and it was positive, affirming. "I will ask for help and listen carefully to advice offered, but the final choice will be mine, as will the responsibility for its consequences. There is no disrespect intended or given."
He smiled and said: "You sound like the true child of my daughter."
"Yes, she taught me to be independent, or I would not be here in front of you now." She rose and again took his hand. "Please, grandfather, if you loved your daughter, grant me the responsibility for my actions. I will respect and love you all the more for it."
He searched her eyes. It felt as if he were reaching inside her. Is he an empath? was her fleeting thought.
"How can I deny this wish to you when you put it this way?"
"Thank you, grandfather." She bent down and kissed his forehead.
He held on to her hand and smiled. "Does this mean that you will not live in my house? You know, you are still welcome."
"Yes, at least for the time being. You know that I didn’t escape from Aros alone, but with Atun Caruna, who crashed near my cave. He has been my companion for almost six months now and I intend to stay with him."
"You realize that this is against the covenant?"
"Yes, but on Aros the covenant was hardly of any relevance and by the time I learned about it, I had made my choice … and I never regret a choice, I only learn from it."
"Well spoken, but the Foundation covenant is a living thing. Your particular situation can easily be accommodated, and I can arrange a highly advantageous marriage with one of the prime families. I can even offer you a choice of possible mates. You will surely find one that will be agreeable to you."
"Grandfather, I know that you only have my best interests in mind. But, as I said, I made my choice and I intend to honor it."
He looked at her silently for a moment and then said: "The Foundation values honor. That was the reason for bringing in the covenant. Bring Atun Caruna to me. I want to know him. And now come, Yuen-mong, we cannot let my son wait any longer."
He rose and they walked slowly down the carpet. She opened the door for him and let him go through first, aware of the questioning looks and impatient minds that met them.
She was seated to the left of her grandfather who was at the head of the table, her uncle at the other end. Bee and Mai sat next to her, Pat and Susan across from them. After everybody was seated and their glasses filled with champagne, her grandfather cleared his throat to draw attention to him.
"Today is a day of deep sadness and a day of great joy for me. Sadness to hear of my daughter’s tragic death, joy to welcome my granddaughter into our family. Let us raise our glasses in her celebration."
They all raised their glasses stiffly and then took a sip.
Pat was the first to address her. "This must be your first champagne, dear cousin. No such luxuries on Aros, I presume." He broke into a goat-like snicker.
She met his gaze firmly and noticed that his tended to fade away. "No, there was neither the leisure nor the desire for intoxicating beverages in a world where every step can quickly become your last. But Atun Caruna and I celebrated our escape from Aros with a Daniel Le Brun 2404."
"Daniel Le Brun from Old Earth?" mused her grandfather. "A 2404 on top. I’m afraid, Pat, that beats this one."
"Yes, there was one in the space craft my parents parked at the edge
of the Aros’ ring and it had waited there patiently for over 20 years."
Pat shrugged his shoulders and said: "I was going to mention that craft later on, but might as well now. You know that this craft belongs to the research arm of UniCom. As it happens I’m in charge of the UniCom fleet and that includes that ship. I’ll take it off your hands. Where did you land?"
All eyes were on her, and she responded with a smile. "Cousin, it pains me to tell you that this craft was lost for more than ten years and therefore does not belong to UniCom any longer, but to me and Atun Caruna as the ones who recovered it."
She noticed her grandfather’s amused eyes, as he watched Pat’s reaction, and felt the rising irritation of the latter.
"That’s a minor legality, and I would severely frown on it if you didn’t return it as the rightful property of UniCom."
Sensing her grandfather’s urge to intervene, she preempted him: "Cousin, frowning will not get you anywhere. I have plans to use this lovely, antique ship to visit Aros again and intend to keep it."
Pat went crimson, but before he could respond, her uncle intervened, in an obvious attempt to change the subject: "You were extremely fortunate that this ship was still there. Was it fully functional? I guess it must have been or else you would not have made it back to Andromatis."
"Yes, it was. Only the navigational atlas needed updating. It obviously was twenty years out of date. We did this on Old Earth."
"Ah, you stopped over on Old Earth, and how could you pay the landing fees both there and here?" probed her grandfather. "Did Atun Caruna have enough credits for that?"
"We took about ten kilograms of gold along from Aros." She noticed the surge of interest around the table.
"You still have some?"
"No, Syd Twan sold it for us." A small wave of disappointment perturbed the minds.
"And how did you get access to your parents’ ship?" her uncle resumed his questioning.
"They had given me the access code, but for some reason the shuttle lock did not want to open. So we ended up space-walking across and left the shuttle behind. It will remain in orbit around Aros indefinitely."
